A substantial amount of heat is typically generated by devices which operate at high power or speeds. In most cases, the heat must be dissipated to preclude malfunction of the device. Conventionally, to dissipate heat, fans have been used to blow cool air past the surface of the device. However, conventional fans typically draw a large amount of power and thus are not readily adaptable for use in small devices, such as microprocessor devices found in lap tap computers. For example, when semiconductor devices and particularly those used in microprocessors are operated at relatively high speeds, a substantial amount of heat is typically developed. The heat must be dissipated to preclude malfunction of the semiconductor devices. In the past, heat sinks have been utilized for mounting semiconductor devices to dissipate heat generated by them. This technique has been utilized particularly where power devices such as rectifiers or power transistors have been utilized. In many instances, such heat sinks would also include fins for increasing the total surface area from which conduction and radiation into the air can take place. Cooling is enhanced by the use of fans that blow cool air past the surface of the chassis and/or heat sink to dissipate the heat. However, such fans typically draw a large amount of power and thus are not readily adaptable for use in microprocessors and particularly in microprocessors which are transportable, such as in lap top computers.
With respect to dissipating heat in larger devices, such as refrigerators and power transformers, the large amount of power drawn by existing fans renders many of the fans uneconomical. For example, the cost for providing cooling to a vertical fin array on a residential power transformer, such as those used for single or multiple household power distribution for underground utilities, is substantial.
Thus, a need exists for a fan for dissipating heat which requires relatively little electrical power to operate.